Pre-packaged Kids' Food: The 11 Worst Offenders

As my two kids get older, I’m starting to feel like there are fewer and fewer moments in the day. I’m also feeling like feeding them both is a full time job all by itself. So, I’ve started wondering about some common convenience, pre-packaged foods — are they healthy for my kids? For some foods, the answer is yes. But there are also a lot of surprisingly unhealthy options out there. Hidden salt, sugar, and trans fat abounds, not to mention lengthy lists of unpronounceable chemical ingredients. Just because the food industry wants our kids to eat this stuff, doesn’t mean they should. Below the jump are 11 of the worst pre-packaged kids’ food offenders.

Open my cabinet and you'll find a few boxes of this stuff. It's great in a pinch, and kids really love it. But I wish they'd change the name to shells and cheese powder or something like that. Covenience aside, boxed mac and cheese can pack a salty punch -- one of the leading brands of boxed mac and cheese has 580 milligrams of sodium per serving -- that's almost 25 percent of the RDA for adults. For a healthier option, try making your own.
Ditch the box: make homemade mac and cheese in 15 minutes

Smoothies are a great way to give kids a fruity sweet drink that they'll love, while also ensuring that they're getting valuable nutrients like calcium and protein. And, if you can't always make your own, picking up pre-made smoothies can be a real time saver. But beware, some smoothie drinks marketed to kids sneak in ingredients like high fructose corn syrup or lots of plain old sugar (a few smoothies have a jaw-dropping 47 grams of sugar per serving -- 10 grams more than a can of Coke), artificial food dyes, and other sketchy additives. Look for a smoothie that's sweetened with fruit juice and has a relatively short list of ingredients.
Make your own smoothies at home

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